Imprint's Song
by myoptic recollections
Summary: Megan is happily dating her highschool sweetheart. So why can't she get the song from some random guy in La Push out of her head? Embry doesn't even want an imprint. How will they deal? EmbryOC
1. Chapter 1

Megan rolled her eyes as her boyfriend Simon walked out of their café super spy style. She used to think that his ridiculousness was funny and cute, but they were getting older, and sometimes his making scenes in public got a little old. She couldn't complain, though, when he looked back at her, his green eyes sparkling in amusement. They had been together for two years now, and had been friends even longer. Megan could barely imagine life without him.

He rejoined her and Megan grabbed his hand.

"Hey look," she said, pointing to an ad in a nearby storefront. "The Mad Hatters are playing again."

They both laughed. Last time they had gone to their concert, expecting a fun if kooky band, they had walked into a room a bit too full of shameless sexual exposition.

"No thanks."

They were walking down the main street of the town of La Push, towards the town common. Megan turned to watch a group of guys who were sitting in a circle on the grass messing around. Her attention was immediately caught by one of them playing a guitar. There was something hauntingly familiar about the melody of his song, like she had heard it once years ago, or in a dream.

Megan couldn't look away. She didn't even realize that her steps had veered in the direction of the group or that they had completely fallen silent until he reached the end of the song and the last of the notes had floated away.

The guitarist finally looked up and caught her gaze. His eyes were dark brown and deep, his gaze clear and wide. He seemed shocked, or amazed. Megan forgot everything around her and stared back.

"Do you know these guys?" Simon asked.

Megan broke away from their weird staring contest and realized where they were. She felt herself blush bright red. She cleared her throat once, twice. "No. That song just sounded really familiar," she said lamely.

The guitarist was still staring at her, but so was everyone else. The silence stretched on longer, until it became really awkward, and Megan began to move away. Suddenly someone said, "It's an old Quileute folk song." The player had spoken. "You've probably heard it if you're from around here."

Megan looked back and almost got trapped by his gaze again. She didn't know him, but it was like she _wanted _to. She _needed _to. She felt an invisible pull, wanting to be closer to him.

"We're…we're from the next town over. Just visiting. I don't know where I've heard the song before."

Simon pulled on her arm and she shook her head, breaking the connection once again. They walked away finally, but Megan still had the strong desire to run back. To be with him. A stranger.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"Nothing. I just…felt like I knew the song," she repeated. She grabbed his hand again, not remembering having dropped it. "Anywhere else you wanted to visit in La Push?" They had driven in just to visit Cassie's Café, which everyone reported was wonderful.

"Nah, let's head back home." He was clearly a bit disgruntled about the weird guitarist incident, but there was nothing Megan could say to remedy that. He would come back around. He always did.

Embry was beside himself as he watched the couple walk away. Jared discreetly took the guitar away from him, seeing the shaking of his hands and fearing destruction of the instrument.

"Did you just…imprint?" Seth asked finally.

Embry got up without answering, beginning to walk in the same direction that the couple had left in. He watched from a distance as they boarded a bus for Forks. He took a step closer, feeling an indefinable pull towards her. Who was she?

Quil put his hand on Embry's shoulder, pulling him back down to earth.

"Is this how you feel all the time?" Embry asked. The bus began to pull away. "Wanting to go to her, but unable to? Like…you're pulled towards her?"

Quil had imprinted on Claire, a five year old. He was biding his time until she was old enough to take her place as his soul mate. He nodded slowly. "It sort of aches when I'm not with Claire, and I get so much happier when I'm near her. Like the world's okay for a moment. Just…like feeling sunshine."

Seth, who had followed them, snorted. "That's poetic, man."

Quil shoved him lightly. "Lay off. Embry's dealing with stuff."

"Sorry, man," Seth said. "So what are you going to do? You think she's with that guy?"

Embry growled. "Yeah, she's definitely with him. I don't know. Will this go away?" He whirled on Quil, who shook his head soberly.

"You just have to make the best of it."

Embry shrugged his arm off. "Yeah, and what if I don't want her forever?" he demanded. Her face was engrained into his memory. "What if I just want to be normal?"

"Maybe we should move this argument to somewhere more private?" Jared suggested. "Sam will kill us if he finds out about this."

"Whatever. I'll see you guys later," Embry said, striding angrily away.

"Don't do anything stupid," he heard Quil yell after him.

Embry made it to the woods in ten minutes, making pretty good time. Once he was within the cover of the trees, he morphed into his other form, that of a huge grey speckled wolf. For a while, hours maybe, he just ran, trying to get his mind off of her. He howled and attacked trees and hunted, to no avail. Finally, when he had just worn himself out, he got to where he knew he would end up: the town limits of Forks.

Night had fallen, so he morphed back, pulling on the pair of pants he had hidden near the road. In a few minutes, he was in the center of the tiny town at the bus station. Trying not to look suspicious, he sniffed the air, looking for her scent. It was burned into his nose, lavender and vanilla. If not for the man—no, the boy—with her, who smelled of grass and garlic, he would not have been able to trace them. They had walked from the bus station, down the street.

Embry followed the scent, trying to give off the impression of a late night stroll to the few cars that passed him on the road. It twisted down two different streets and finally ended in front of a house. The garlic trail, he was pleased to note, did not go into the house, but continued on down the road. This was her house.

He marked it in his mind, knowing it would be important later, and left quickly.

Sam and the rest of the pack were waiting for him at Sam's house.

"Congratulations," Sam said warily.

Embry snorted. "I'm hardly in a celebratory mood. I feel like I've just been married off at the age of twenty two."

"You'll cope," Sam said firmly. He glanced fondly in Emily's direction. "And it will be worth it."

Embry swallowed, thinking of how much strife had happened in Sam's life as a result of his imprinting. He had seen how Sam and Emily looked at each other, and sure it seemed nice, but now? He was so young, too young to settle down. He rebelled at the thought of his ancient blood arbitrarily choosing him a mate. "What am I supposed to do now?"

"Remember, she'll feel just as strong a pull towards you as you do to her. She'll come to you."

"She has a boyfriend," Embry protested. His hands balled into fists.

Sam shrugged. "Can't fight fate."


	2. Chapter 2

Megan sat in her last lecture of the day, drumming her fingers on the desk. As soon as she realized what the beat was, she stopped, grabbing her pen and trying to take notes. Why couldn't she get that song out of her head?

Normally, she would be texting Simon, but they hadn't talked much during the past few days, since they had visited La Push. She was not really sure what he was annoyed at, but she had a feeling it had to do with the guitarist. Megan was upset that he was even concerned about it. It was just a random encounter, she kept telling him. As if he thought she would leave him just for some random stranger that she met on the street! Even if he was really really attractive, Megan thought.

After class let out, she met Simon for lunch. He seemed like he was over whatever tiff he had been in, and launched right into a detailed description of his research for one of his classes. Megan honestly wasn't interested, but she tried to remember how she used to sit through these talks happily. She used to sit there and watch how excited he was, and feel his excitement soak into her. Lately, though, she did not care as much.

And she still couldn't get that guitarist's face out of her head.

She clenched her fists in frustration.

"Are you ok?" Simon asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Megan tried to smile at him. Did all this thinking about another guy constitute cheating?

Simon smiled back at her easily and grabbed her hand across the table as continued talking as if nothing had happened.

Embry was working in the garage he owned with Jacob and Seth when a different smell drifted through the air, over the reek of oil and metal. It was her. She was here.

He rolled out from under Mrs. Clearwater's '81 Ford quickly. "I'm taking a break," he announced gruffly. He ducked the wrench that Jake chucked at him with ease and escaped out the door.

She was walking down Main Street, looking a bit confused. What was she looking for? Was she looking for him? Embry quickly squelched that desire. He tried to look casual, like he had come outside just to inspect the sign out front. It was a simple plywood set up, and Quil had gotten Claire, whose twelve year old artistic skills were blossoming, to paint "La Push Repair Shop." Embry banged in the back of it lightly, making sure that it stayed up. He turned around after he judged enough time to have passed, and she was a few feet away.

"Hi," he said casually. "What can I do for you?"

"Hi," she said. She was nervous, he realized. "I'm Megan. I think we sort of met on n the common the other day."

Embry smiled. Just having her here, he felt like grinning. "Of course, I remember you. I'm Embry." They shook hands. She gasped a bit when they touched, and Embry hoped it wasn't his abnormally hot skin. "What brings you back to La Push?" he asked, withdrawing his hand quickly.

"Well, actually, I meant to ask you about the song you were playing," Megan started nervously.

Embry raised his eyebrows. That was what she wanted to ask about? Not the feelings he was pretty sure she had, because he had them too? Slow down, he thought. You just introduced yourself.

Megan saw his reaction and seemed to grow more hesitant. "It doesn't matter, really," she said quickly.

Embry shook his head. "I'm sorry. It just seems like a long way to come for a song."

She smiled sheepishly. "It's been stuck in my head for days." She paused, appearing to think. "I don't know what it is about it. I feel like I've heard it somewhere before."

"Well," Embry said slowly, searching for something to say about it. "It's an old folk song. It's about coming home and finding a loved one waiting for you." He paused for a moment. "My mom used to sing it to me."

Megan frowned, searching his face for something. "She's not around anymore, is she?" she asked softly.

Embry shook his head. "She passed away three years ago. Cancer." He wondered how she had guessed so easily. Imprint insight? Was he easier to read than he thought he was?

"I'm so sorry." She sounded sincere.

Embry nodded, acknowledging her response. This was definitely not the way he wanted his first conversation with his imprint to go. He didn't want to talk about this any more. Just because she was his imprint did not mean that she was getting into his head so easily. He decided to change the topic. "Well, I have my guitar inside if you have a minute," he said.

She nodded eagerly and he ducked back inside.

Jacob was grinning stupidly at him when he came back in. "I thought you didn't like her?" he teased.

"Shut up, man," Embry growled. "The situation might not be ideal, but I'll make the best of it."

"And she's hot," Jacob added. Embry growled at him again and Jacob just laughed.

Megan sat on a bench outside to wait. What an odd circumstance. She hadn't told Simon that she was coming. She had been in her apartment when she caught herself humming the song again. Her best friend Cara had heard her humming it the other day and Megan had found herself lying about where she heard it. For some reason, she wanted to keep the encounter to herself (and Simon), and she knew Cara would read more into the situation than was necessary.

Megan had turned on her stereo loudly to blare out the music to no avail. This was it, she finally thought. The song had been haunting her for almost a week. There was something about it that she had to figure out. She had caught the next bus to La Push before she thought about it too much, and it wasn't until then that she realized that she had no idea what she was doing. Why did she think this mysterious musician would just be on the common every day? No to be deterred, she began wandering down one of the main streets.

She was once again wondering what she was doing as she waited for Embry to come back. Would hearing the song twice drive away any weird feelings she had about it? She hoped so.

Embry came back quickly holding his guitar. He sat next to her on the bench and tuned it carefully. After a few minutes, he began to play. The melody was as hauntingly familiar as the first time. The notes rose and fell elegantly. Slowly the melody became a bit faster, a bit happier, and Embry sang along in Quileute.

Megan felt like the song wrapped around her, encasing her protectively and drawing her closer to Embry. She scooted closer to him on the bench, watching his fingers pick out the chords. She was totally entranced, unable to look away.

The song could have been a minute, or an hour. She lost track of time. Megan found herself sad when it ended, the melody rising gracefully to the final chord.

It was completely silent for a minute, and she realized how close she had drifted to Embry. If she leaned up just a little bit, she could kiss him. She suddenly wished the guitar wasn't in between them.

Suddenly, she remembered Simon. She couldn't cheat on him. They had been together through too much.

She scrambled off the bench a little too quickly. "Thanks for playing it or me again, but I really should get going."

Embry frowned. "You came all this way for that?"

"Yeah, and now I've heard it and I need to leave," Megan said, smiling a bit frantically. She felt far too connected to this guy she had barely met. Who knew what would happen if she didn't leave? "I need to catch the next bus."

"Wait!" Embry said as she began walking away. He caught up with her easily. "The next bus isn't for an hour. Look." Megan reluctantly stopped and faced him. "I know I come on a bit strong sometimes and you probably have a boyfriend or someone waiting for you, but you seem like a really cool person. Can we just be friends?" He stuck his hand out.

Megan wasn't sure if she could trust herself around him, or if she would only want friendship from him. But when she met his eyes again, she knew that all she wanted to do was stay and talk to him. Nothing in her wanted to walk away, and she wasn't sure if she could at this point. Almost without realizing what she was doing, she shook his hand again. "Friends."

"Yo Embry, break's up!" Jacob shouted from inside. "I wanna meet your new friend too!"

Reviews are super-mega-awesome :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Megan sat in her bed later that night, flicking through her cell phone. She had not talked to Simon all day, despite the two unreturned text messages he had sent her. Her fingers paused over his name in her phone, and then skimmed lightly past him. She wasn't sure why she was reluctant to talk to him, but she knew he would be annoyed that she had gone back to La Push without him, that he wouldn't understand.

She paused at that thought, before continuing down to Cara's name. She considered calling her for some girl time, for some ice cream and nail painting and gossiping about boys, before ultimately deciding against it.

She scrolled a bit further through her contacts and landed with a surprise on Embry's name. When had he programmed this into her phone? She thought about calling him, but didn't want to seem desperate; they had spent the entire day together.

Her subconscious pulled her back from that thought with an abrupt screech. There was no need to play hard to get because she wasn't trying to date Embry. She was dating Simon, and she'd be damned if she was going to turn disloyal because of some moderately attractive boy with a guitar.

With a sigh, she realized that the girls' night was probably long overdue and called Cara.

"So are you going to spill now or should I wait til the pizza gets here?" Cara asked as she threw herself onto Megan's couch.

"There's nothing to spill," Megan insisted. "There's just…there's this guy, in La Push," she filled in Cara on everything that had happened. "But nothing happened!" she said indignantly to Cara's raised eyebrows.

"You spent the whole day there?"

"Well, yes, but I met his friend Jacob. He's really funny and nice, and then they wanted to get pizza, and we spent a lot more time in the pizza parlor then I thought we did. Their friend Collin works there, and what am I doing Cara?" she trailed off despondently. "Am I cheating on Simon?"

"Aw do you have a crush on Embry?" Cara asked teasingly.

"No. I don't think so. No. Well, maybe a little one." Megan sighed. "Cara, you should have seen the way he introduced me to his friends. It was like he was so happy, so proud to be showing me off. Like I was his girlfriend. And…I was totally ok with it." There was silence for a minute, before she added, "He asked me to come to some bon fire thing at the beach next weekend."

"Are you going?" Cara asked.

The doorbell rang, saving Megan from having to answer. She jumped off the couch to pay for the pizza, Cara shouting, "Don't avoid the question!"

Megan took her time returning, carefully composing her face.

"I want to go, Cara, I really do. But I love Simon, and I don't know if I can be just friends with Embry. He's just…he's so sweet, and there's something about him. I can't get him out of my head. And that song…"

Cara had polished off a slice of pizza already, and was choosing her second when she gasped. "That's the song I caught you humming the other day and you got all embarrassed!" she crowed. "I knew there was something weird about it!"

Megan blushed. "There _is_ something weird about it. I mean, whenever he's playing his guitar, I just feel like it's magic or something, drawing me closer to him. Stop laughing!" she shouted, throwing a pillow at her friend. "I'm serious! It's not like a rock star crush or anything; it's like I'm drawn to him, and I want to be with him and talk to him and agree with him, even though my head is telling me that I don't know anything about him."

"Sounds like an infatuation," Cara said dismissively. "I bet if you keep hanging out with him it'll fade out."

Megan frowned a bit but nodded. "Then I will go to this bonfire." She wondered if this girls' night was her subconscious's way of seeking her best friend's approval, when she already knew she couldn't deny Embry anything. "As _friends_!" she added, seeing Cara's smirk.

Megan sat on the opposite side of the log from Embry, giving him enough room for decorum and for the guitar in his hands. She knew that everyone here was looking at them, looking at her, the outsider, the newcomer, and making judgments. They probably suspected that she and Embry were dating, and even though Simon would never hear about this, she felt guilty giving the impression off, so she maintained her distance.

Embry tuned his guitar for a few minutes, and then the crowd started calling out requests. It was nice, the community and the camaraderie in the air. People were talking and telling jokes and singing along.

"Hi." Megan turned to look at the girl who had come to sit next to her. She was a petite thing, her native heritage obvious in her long dark hair and tanned skin. "I'm Kim. You must be Megan."

"Yeah," Megan answered, smiling. "How'd you know?"

"We've heard about you," she answered.

Megan focused part of her attention on the conversation with Kim, but remained aware of Embry a few feet away, and so heard him start when Kim said that. "Oh have you?" Megan grinned, looking back at him. "All good, I hope."

"I tried to stick to the truth," Embry answered cryptically, smirking. "So, no."

Megan rolled her eyes and hit him.

"So I hope you're sticking around for when Billy tells the stories," Kim said, recapturing her attention. "Billy Black always does them, and he's a fantastic storyteller. You won't hear anything like them."

Embry's playing hit a chord wrong, the note falling awkwardly in the song. "I don't know if Megan wants to hear all that tonight. They're really long," he said quickly.

"No, they sound really interesting," Megan put in.

"Great." Kim grinned. "I'm sure you'll love them." She shared an odd look with Embry that Megan couldn't interpret. "We'll have to get together sometime and do some girl stuff. You should meet Rachel; she couldn't come tonight."

Megan agreed easily, giving Kim her phone number. They chatted for a while longer, and then Kim got up and walked back over to her boyfriend. It was only then that Megan noticed that Embry had gotten up and was sharing a quiet conversation with Jacob across the fire. Megan stood up and wandered over, feeling drawn to him.

"What if it doesn't? It's so soon, too soon," Embry was saying.

"Dude, you just have to grow a pair and get over it," Jacob said. He looked over Embry's shoulder and grinned at her. "Hey there, shorts. Is Kim corrupting you already?"

Embry turned and smiled at her tightly. Megan wondered what they had been talking about. "A little conspiring never hurt anybody," she answered. Jacob laughed loudly. "Everything ok?"

"Just splendid," Jacob assured her. "Right, Embry?"

Embry nodded, forcing his features into a smile. "Yeah." He looked up. "Billy's here. Are you sure you want to sit through all of the stories?"

"Yeah, of course."

Megan grabbed a seat and Embry slowly came and sat next to her. As Billy's voice began, weaving an epic tale of the tribe's ancestral roots and first leaders, Megan forgot that she was supposed to be keeping her distance from Embry. By the time the stories were over, she found herself curled tightly into his side, feeling his warmth.

"So, umm what'd you think?" Embry asked nervously. His arm was wrapped around her shoulders, and he began rubbing nervous circles over her sweatshirt.

"They were pretty great stories," Megan said, feeling drowsy from sitting so long. She yawned.

Embry relaxed noticeably. "Yeah, Billy can tell them like no one else," he agreed.

Megan suddenly remembered herself, remembered Simon. She sat up abruptly, pulling away from Embry. "Sorry," she said quickly, blushing. "It's getting pretty late, I should probably go."

Embry frowned at her but nodded. "I'll walk you to your car," he offered. He stood up after her.

"No, it's ok. I can find my way." Megan began walking back toward the road.

"It's pretty dark out there," Embry pointed out. He caught her as she tripped over a twig at the beginning of the path.

Megan shrugged off his arms. She stopped walking, but refused to turn around to face him. "I don't think we can be friends anymore," she said quietly.

"_What_? Why not?" His voice was shocked and angry.

"I can't do this, Embry. I have a boyfriend, and…I don't trust myself around you." She turned around and looked up at him sadly. "I'm sorry. I don't know what happens, but I just…I can't control myself around you."

"You don't have to," he said.

"I love Simon." Her voice was unwavering, steady. "I don't know what's going on between us, but I know that I love him." She began to turn away.

"Wait, I can explain."

Megan froze and turned back around. "Do you know why I feel like this?" she asked slowly. "Are you doing it?"

"No, no believe me I didn't cause it," he said quickly. "I just, I need a little time. Were you paying attention to the stories? The part about the shapeshifters and the cold ones?"

Megan nodded. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"They're umm…" He shuffled his feet nervously before finally meeting her eyes. "They're true. And they're still happening. We're still protecting the tribe from the cold ones."

"'We'?" Megan's voice came out high. "What are you, Embry?"

He held her gaze, his eyes clear and sincere. "I am a shapeshifter, a werewolf," Embry said steadily. "And you are my imprint, my soul mate."

She wanted to demand that he stop joking around, but she instinctively knew that he would not lie to her.

Megan was silent for a long time as the implications of this dawned on her. Embry was a werewolf. His friends were all werewolves. They turned into wolves and fought vampires. It was so ludicrous, but she believed it. It explained so much: his size, his strength, his body heat, his sudden disappearances sometimes, the way he moved a bit too fast.

And he had imprinted on her. They were bound together, soul to soul, forever. "Is that why you've been hanging out with me?" Megan asked quietly. "Because you had to? Because some tribal elder or something decided you should?"

"That's not how it works, but yes. Isn't that why you're here anyway?" Embry demanded. "Because you feel this, this connection between us. It's a force that draws us together. I have this pain, deep in my gut when we're apart, and you're always in the forefront of my thoughts. I'm happier when you're around…usually. Don't tell me you don't feel it too."

"I feel it too," Megan said quietly. "But I can't…Do you want to be with me or is it the wolf?" This was crazy, were they really arguing about this? She felt light-headed, and swayed lightly.

Embry said something in Quileute that sounded like a curse. "Jared? Can I borrow Kim?" he asked in a slightly louder voice.

Only a second later, Kim came walking out from the fire. "What's going on?" she asked.

"She's going into shock," Embry said, but Megan heard it as if he was speaking from far away. She saw the ground rush up towards her face, but something warm grabbed her and pulled her back away from it. "Can you drive her home? I don't know if she's ok with me right now," Embry asked.

"Of course," Kim said. "Jared will follow us with my car. Where are her keys?"

"I don't know, wait, no, in her jacket pocket," Embry's normally musical and calming voice sounded so stressed right now. Megan wanted to tell him everything was alright, but her mouth wasn't working.

Something warm was supporting her. She kept trying to tell Embry to calm down, that everything would be ok, until she fell backward into the blackness and no one's arms could pull her back from it.

Sorry this was super late. Reviews are much appreciated :)


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the long wait on the update :/

Chapter 4

Megan woke up and was immediately aware that she was in a moving car. "So that was fun, huh?" Kim remarked quietly from the front seat.

"Kim?" Megan asked groggily, sitting up. "What's going on?" The events of the past day slowly started coming back to her. Embry was a werewolf. They had fought. He was bound to her in some were tribal bond. "Never mind, I'm good without knowing all the details," she decided.

"Don't worry, it's a lot to take in at once, especially since you're not Quileute. What street do you live on again?" Kim asked quietly.

Megan gave her directions and leaned back. "So are you…one of them?" she asked curiously. She couldn't imagine tiny Kim transforming into a wolf.

Kim laughed. "No, I'm Jared's imprint," she said proudly.

"So he, like, has to like you?" Megan asked.

Kim shook her head. "It's not like that. He has to protect me, and to a certain extent has to be around me, but romance isn't a part of it. That kind of just…evolved by itself." She blushed.

"What do you mean, he has to be around you?" Megan pressed.

Kim paused. "If we go too long without seeing each other, we both get….restless? Anxious? Jared needs to, I don't know, assure himself that I'm ok all the time, so I make sure I see him at least once a day. Otherwise, it's kind of like a drug withdrawal." Kim laughed. "This all sounded more melodramatic than I meant it to. Jared and I are actually friends now, imprint or no, and I would spend all day with him if I could."

Megan thought that Kim was a bit immature, getting sickeningly gaga over her boyfriend, but who was she to judge? Megan and Simon usually talked at least once a day, but sometimes if they were busy they would go days without seeing each other. It didn't used to be like that, she realized. She used to make time for him, whether or not she had thirty things to do.

Then Megan suddenly thought of something. "Will that happen to me and Embry, if we don't hang out all the time? Withdrawal?" She thought of the few days she had gone without seeing him, and how she had his song stuck in his head constantly.

Kim bit her lip before nodding. "You don't have to get married or anything, but it would be better for both of you if you stayed friends."

She was holding something back, Megan realized suddenly looking at Kim. There was something she wasn't saying.

"Well, here we are!" Kim announced. She turned and studied Megan. "Are you all right now? No more fainting?"

Megan tried to give her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure I can make it into my apartment. Thanks for the ride." She started to open the door.

"You have my number," Kim said quickly. "If yo u ever need to talk or anything. Embry's a really good guy and he didn't mean to mess up your life or anything." This last part came out in a rush.

Megan sighed. "I'm sure he didn't mean to, but it kind of changes things between us."

"Will you give him a chance?" Kim asked hopefully.

Awkward. Did Embry's friends know that she had a boyfriend? "I don't know," Megan said honestly. "But we're just friends. I have a boyfriend."

"Ooooh." Kim's face fell. "Well-" she stuttered for a minute. "Friends is good too, I guess."

So there's no rule about dating each other, but everyone's shocked at the idea of not dating, Megan thought. "Thanks for the ride, Kim," Megan repeated, and jumped out quickly.

* * *

><p>"Soooo," Jake said quietly after Kim and Jared left with Megan.<p>

"She hates me," Embry groaned.

"Well, you did spring it on her kind of quickly," Seth said.

Embry shook her head. "She hates me. And she wants her boyfriend more." He said the second part like it was even worse.

"Oh stop whining," Paul said briskly. "She obviously wants you. If she was going to break it off with you, you're a threat to her boyfriend."

There was a collective doubletake towards Paul. "When did you learn to speak women?" Seth asked finally.

Paul made a rude gesture towards all of them. "It's not that complicated, if you could all get your heads out the dirt."

"So, Embry has a shot?" Seth asked hopefully.

Paul rolled his eyes. "Maybe, if you stop being so stupid," he growled, and stood up. "This bonfire sucks. Did anyone bring booze?"

Embry stared into the fire as people began milling about him.

"Dude, lighten up. She'll come around," Jake said lightly, dropping down beside Embry.

Embry frowned. "What if…what if I don't want her to come around? I don't want to fight for her. I don't want…this." He sighed heavily.

Jake was silent for a long moment. "Then…don't, I guess." Embry looked up at him, surprised. "Dude, what'd you think? The tribe elders were gonna make you get married to her?"

"But I feel the imprint, Jake. It's pulling me towards her, even now." Embry's hands fisted.

Jake shrugged. "Ignore it. Deal with it. You'll work it out."

* * *

><p>Megan said nothing to her friends or Simon about the odd events of the bonfire. Even now, as time passed, they seemed stranger and stranger, and she began to question her memory. Had she really believed that the men of La Push transformed into wolves? It seemed too ridiculous. And yet there was no way to question it and find out the truth that she really wanted to pursue, so she pushed it to the back of her mind. And if she ever found herself humming a certain song that reminded her of La Push, then she would turn on the radio and try to drown it out.<p>

She made it four days before she began to feel…distracted. Anxious. She shook her head and told herself that it was just her paranoia over what Kim told her. Weirdly, though, she began to feel an aching in her gut, and a constriction in her chest, like she couldn't fill her lungs all the way.

She and Simon were just beginning to feel normal around each other again. He was annoyed at her lately that she seemed so distant, but she couldn't tell him that she had been in La Push with Embry. She wasn't cheating on him, but he would assume the worst. Because of that, she resolved to be a better girlfriend and reconnect with him.

It was a week later that Embry called her. Megan hesitated when she saw the name, but took a deep breath and answered. "Hello?"

"Megan?" Embry's voice was gruff, hoarse. "Can you meet me at First Beach?"

"Why?" she asked immediately. "Are you ok?"

His breathing was rough. "I need to see you. Please come. I promise it'll be fast. Bring Simon if you need to."

Megan glanced backward at Simon. She still felt the constriction in her chest, tighter now that she could hear Embry. Would Simon be ok with this? Would he come? In the end, it was Embry that made the choice for her. "Please?" he asked simply.

"I'll be there soon."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Megan drove to the beach alone. While she was nervous about seeing Embry by herself, she was too scared to admit to Simon that she had seen the guy with the guitar from La Push without him. He would assume the worst, and she didn't want to lose Simon. When she got there, there was only one figure standing out amidst the rocky shoreline. Embry turned when she shut her car door, and his eyes took her in hungrily. It wasn't frightening though; more like he was reassuring himself that she was still there, still ok.

Megan did a twirl for him. "All good here. How are you?"

Embry threw his head back and laughed. "I'm much better now. Thanks for coming."

Megan smiled easily and found that the pressure on her chest had abated. She took a deep breath, relishing the sensation. Suddenly, she realized what it was. "The…imprint is real, isn't it? Do you feel it, too? When we're apart?" she asked curiously.

Embry's expression became alarmed. "Feel what?"

Megan shrugged. "I don't know, like there's a weight on your chest."

Embry rubbed his face. "You shouldn't be affected. I'm sorry. Imprints aren't normally…separated, so we weren't really sure what the side effects would be."

Megan frowned, unsure of how to respond to that. Surely she couldn't be the first uncooperative imprint?

"But to your other question, yes, I can feel it all the time. There's always a compulsion to go to you, to protect you. That's actually why I called you today, because the longer I went without seeing you, the harder it was to resist. It's like it's always in the back of my head. And," he paused, his dark eyes studying her, "I can feel you, to a certain extent. I know when you're near. I can feel if you're alarmed, or in danger. Whatever scared you this morning, I could feel it too."

Megan smiled sheepishly. "There was a spider in my kitchen." She tried to absorb everything he had just said. "So, what does this all mean?"

Embry sighed and sat down on a log. "I completely understand if you're freaked out by all of this and you never want to see me again. Kim said you were a little…confused the other night. I called you my soul mate, but this isn't an arranged marriage. And I know you have problems reconciling me and your boyfriend. I'm not asking for a commitment or anything. Can we just meet up here, once a week, so I don't go crazy?" He rested his head in his hands. "It's so much better when you're here. First time I've been able to think clearly all week," he muttered. She wasn't sure if he meant for her to hear it.

Megan nodded slowly. "I can do that. But if it gets to be too much, ever, call me. We'll figure something out."

Embry stood up and studied her carefully. "Thank you," he said sincerely. "Really, you don't know what a huge favor this is."

Megan shrugged awkwardly. "Don't mention it." She glanced back at her car. "So are we good now?"

Embry nodded. "Yeah, we're good."

Megan smiled. "Good. I'll see you next week."

She wanted, more than anything, to have another girls' night with Cara, but she didn't dare. She knew that this…issue that she had with Embry had to stay a secret. Cara could not, and would not, understand. She also could not trust herself to not spill everything to her best friend. Instead she found herself making up excuses and lying to Cara and Simon about where she was.

So a week later, Megan found herself back on the beach, sitting on the same log opposite Embry. He seemed content to just have her be physically close. She knew that her own side effects of the imprint all vanished when he was around. They were silent for a long time, staring out at the water side by side. Megan glanced at him sidelong. She hadn't heard him play the guitar since the bonfire when he told her his secret.

"Why don't you play your guitar anymore?" she asked finally.

Embry started at the abrupt question. "I didn't want you to think that I was using it to…manipulate you or anything. The imprint manifested itself for you in the form of my music, and I thought you wouldn't want me to play around you."

Megan nodded, somewhat surprised by the revelation. It was oddly considerate of him. "I wouldn't mind. If you wanted to play, I mean," she said hesitantly. "If you don't, that's fine," she added quickly.

Embry gave her a small smile. "I'd love to." He stood up and ran unnaturally fast to his truck, coming back in a few seconds with his guitar. The entire atmosphere relaxed as he strummed a few chords, stopping to tune the instrument. He started to play a few slower folk songs, occasionally humming or singing along. Megan sat next to him silently, enjoying the music, letting it wrap around her.

Finally, his last song came to an end just as the sun set. Megan stood up quickly. How had they been here so long? Almost the entire afternoon had passed. "I should get back," she said. She paused and drew a deep breath, savoring the lack of constriction in her gut. She felt so much better around him.

"Right, me too," Embry agreed quickly. "What are you doing tonight?"

Megan shrugged. "Probably watching a movie with Simon. You?" She suppressed her feelings when he winced at Simon's name.

"Patrol."

Megan nodded awkwardly, not looking at him. "So, are you better now?" she asked finally.

He nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I'm good." The waves crashed against the shore loudly. "So…I'll see you around, I guess."

She always felt so much better after their meetings. Her chest felt lighter; she felt more energetic, like there was more color in the world. Part of her thought it was ridiculous, that it was all in her head. Another part of her was not so sure.

Either way, their weekly meetings began to be less awkward after the guitar incident. Megan learned that Embry was pretty relaxing to be around. They would usually just sit at the beach, though a few of their rainier meet ups had gotten moved to Cassie's Café. They mostly stayed to casual conversation: the latest movie, whether that annoying pop song on the radio was worth listening to, and why Megan's grandmother insisted on calling her every other day. Embry confided to her how boring La Push was, and Megan offered to trade her boring university classes. They stayed away from the i word or anything relating to the supernatural, both subconsciously aware of how tenuous their new relationship was.

Until one week, a month after they had started their weekly rendezvous. Embry looked really distraught when Megan got to First Beach. As she stepped out of her car, he raced over and was there unnaturally fast.

"Thank God," he said, hugging her frantically.

"What's going on?" she asked, her voice muffled by his bare chest.

"There was an incident on the border. A few bloodsuckers have been getting through, and one found Claire. Luckily Quil was with her, but it scared us all pretty bad."

Megan froze. "She's ok?"

"Yeah, yeah, Claire's fine," Embry said, letting go finally. Megan was momentarily distracted by the sight of his chest, but his serious voice dragged her back to his face. "I was worried about you."

Megan tried to shrug. "Well, I'm fine."

Embry made a frustrated sound. "You still don't get it. You're my imprint. My only imprint ever. My world revolves around you now. If anything were to happen to you, I don't know what I would do. You're it for me."

Megan frowned. "Relax, nothing's happened."

"Don't you understand, there are bloodsucking vampires out there that will kill you if they smell me on you!"

"What do you want me to do? I'm your imprint, but I'm also a person. I can't just sit in a glass room all day so you know I'm ok! I have to live my life, Embry!" Megan nearly shouted, throwing her hands up.

"I don't know," Embry shouted back. He turned abruptly and punched a log. Megan took several steps back, watching him breathing heavily. He straightened slowly, seeming to collect himself. "I'm sorry."

"I'm going to go…" Megan said slowly.

"No!" Embry said quickly. "They're still out there!" He visibly pulled himself back. "Never mind, we have double patrols going right now." He took a deep breath and gave her a forced smile. "It's fine, go. Just call me if you see anyone strange, or really pale, or overly sparkly…" He cut himself off. "I'll see you next week."

Megan huffed as she stood up, feeling oddly dismissed. She wasn't asking for Embry's permission to leave, and this whole conversation was making her rethink the weekly meetings. "I don't know; will I have permission to leave my house next week?" she asked sarcastically. "Maybe we should skip next week. Or every week."

Embry's expression darkened. "What? But…you can't! The imprint will-"

"I didn't ask for an imprint!" Megan snapped. "And I don't need your protection!" She whirled around and stomped back to her car, not turning around to see his tortured expression.

* * *

><p>The next day, Megan was watching TV with Simon in her apartment. He was being far too quiet lately, and she was wondering how to ask him about it.<p>

"How did your research presentation go?" she asked finally. She had a vague idea that he had been working on one for a while.

Simon tensed up beside her, but didn't take his eyes off of the screen. "My experiment failed." His voice was blank, emotionless. "It was two weeks ago."

Megan felt a stab of guilt. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. What happened?"

Simon frowned. "My subjects were contaminated. Doesn't matter."

Megan wanted to disagree. It obviously did matter; Simon's life practically revolved around his subjects. He set the bar pretty high for himself, and he was definitely disappointed and angry. And she should have known about it. This was a big deal in his life; he had been prepping for the presentation for months. She was an awful girlfriend, she realized.

She was trying to figure out how to phrase her question, her apology, anything, when someone started banging on the door. She sent Simon an apologetic look as she stood up to answer it.

"Hi Megan," Kim said timidly. Behind her stood an annoyed-looking Jared. "Got a minute?"

* * *

><p>Sooo..good, bad, ugly? Feedback?<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

She felt Simon come wandering up behind her. "Who's this, Meg?"

Megan bit her lip. Somehow, telling her boyfriend that these were friends of her werewolf-protector-soul mate-person seemed like a bad idea. "This is Kim and Jared…" she said slowly. "They're friends from work," she lied.

Old Simon could always tell when she was lying, but this new Simon simply smiled and introduced himself. "I'm Megan's boyfriend, Simon." Wait, she wondered, was it Simon that had changed, or was it Megan?

Jared was looking between Megan and Simon with an odd, suspicious look on his face.

"I don't think I've seen you guys at the coffee shop before," Simon commented. "Are you new?" Of course, he knew most of her coworkers.

"Jared just started. I think you've met Kim before," Megan interjected smoothly. "Did you want to talk about taking my Sunday shift?"

"Yes," Kim said quickly. "Do you mind if we talk in the hall or something? It's kind of private."

Megan gave Simon a reassuring look as she followed Kim into the hall. Jared shuffled into her tiny apartment, dwarfing both the doorway and Simon, who looked visibly uncomfortable.

"They'll be fine," Kim said jokingly, tugging Megan further down the hall. "Listen, there's a couple…problems in the area and you need to come to La Push. Just for a few hours."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Megan said, putting her hands up. "I appreciate you going along with me in front of my boyfriend, but I'm not going. Me and Embry aren't even speaking right now. I appreciate the consideration, but no thanks."

Kim raised her eyebrows. "There's three vampires out here. You know that they attacked Claire, right? The safest place for anyone, especially for you, is La Push right now. We'll just go to Emily's and mooch off her food for a few hours."

"What do you mean, especially me? And if it's dangerous, I'm not just going to leave Simon here."

Kim paused. "Megan, you're an imprint. That makes you a target for random vampires. We're important to the pack and to the guys, so if one of us gets hurt, it'll hurt them. They'll be able to smell Embry on you. Simon will be fine, but you might be in danger. We can't risk you."

Megan felt herself growing annoyed. "Let me make myself clear: I'm not part of your pack, or your tribe. I didn't ask for an imprint, and I'm not going to go to La Push just so you paranoid cultists will relax."

Kim, surprisingly, drew herself up a bit. "Like it or not, you are part of the pack, and if you stay here, it will be harder for them to fight the bloodsuckers off, and harder for them to keep you safe. Because even if you're an ungrateful little brat and stay here, the pack will protect you, because you are one of us now." Her voice was quiet, but deadly serious. "But if any of them get hurt because you're being a bitch, I don't know if I will be able to forgive you. Or if you'll be able to forgive yourself." Kim stared her down.

Megan felt herself slowly deflate. "You're sure Simon will be ok?" Kim nodded, still serious. "Alright, but only for a few hours."

Kim finally smiled. "Good. Once you eat Emily's food, you won't want to leave anyway."

When they opened the apartment door, they found Jared and Simon standing silently at either end of the small kitchen. Simon was pretending to text or something on his phone. Jared was leaning against a wall, but looking around alertly, as if waiting for an attack at any moment.

"Sorry, hon, I've got to run back to work for a couple hours," Megan said, marveling at how easy it was to lie to Simon.

"I thought you were off for the rest of the week?" he asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"I know, but I need the hours. I'll make it up to you," she promised. She kissed him quickly and then left with the two Quileutes.

The ride to La Push was quiet. Megan did her best to ignore her companions' matching looks of disapproval about her boyfriend. Whatever Kim said, she was not part of their pack, and even if she were, they could not dictate who she dated.

They pulled up to a small, but cute house on the outskirts of town. It was nestled right into the woods. Jared kissed Kim sweetly before walking around to the back of the house and straight into the forest. Megan followed Kim up to the porch, but as they were about to enter, Embry came out in just a pair of shorts. He looked both surprised and relieved to see her. "You came."

Megan gave him a stiff smile. "I heard there would be food," she said drily.

He stopped and studied her for a long moment. "You'll be fine here. I need to go, but we'll probably be back in a few hours."

She absorbed his words: probably. She still had not quite absorbed that he—that they—were all werewolves, were on their way to do battle with vampires. He could be injured. What did one say when one's sort-of-soul-mate was off to fight the evil undead? "Good luck."

Somehow, her concern for him, her very presence, seemed to bolster him up. He smirked. "Thank you, but it's the leeches that'll need it." He gave her a mock salute and swaggered off towards the woods.

Megan let out a deep breath. Was this what being an imprint was, making jokes and comforting their crazy wolf shapeshifter as they went off to war? The feminist in her was queasy over the potential implications. And yet she stared after him into the forest, where somewhere there were three vicious vampires lurking. They would all be fine, right?

"Come inside Megan, the pie's almost done!" Kim called from the doorway.

Kim quickly reintroduced Megan to Emily and Rachel, who were both like Kim: young, in their mid-twenties, Quileute, and gorgeous. Megan felt insignificant even next to Emily, who had three huge scars down the side of her face but was still beautiful. Emily's welcoming smile put her at ease, though.

"So you're Megan!" she said, shaking her hand warmly. She was definitely a hugger, Megan thought. "Thanks for coming; I know this was a bit last minute." She chattered on as if this were a dinner party, not a vampire-related lockdown. "My niece Claire will be here soon, so I thought we'd make cookies."

"Emily likes to bake," the as-yet-silent Rachel confided. "It takes her mind off things. I'm Paul's fiancé, Rachel." Her gaze was serious and a bit calculating as she sized Megan up.

Megan tried to smile, feeling uncomfortable under the scrutiny. "Well, that's great. I love to bake too."

Rachel's flat expression didn't change, but Emily smiled even wider and pulled her into the kitchen. A cherry pie was already cooling on the counter, but they both set to work on a cookie batter. Emily was constantly looking up to check the clock.

Finally, the doorbell rang, and the older woman let out a shaky breath of relief, her only sign of worry. She answered the door and a tiny girl dressed all in bright pink launched herself at her. She was talking quickly, almost too quickly for Megan to follow from her spot in the kitchen. Emily kept inviting the other woman—Claire's mom—into the house for tea, but she waved it off, saying she had errands and thanking Emily for watching her daughter. Emily reluctantly closed the door on her.

Claire jumped up onto the couch in between Rachel and Kim, and Megan was fascinated to see the aloof Rachel's expression soften as she talked to the girl. Claire was telling them all about her trip to the zoo in Portland last week. She jumped off the couch to demonstrate exactly how the monkeys walked when Emily and Megan both sat with them. Claire immediately stopped and walked up to Megan.

"Hi, I'm Claire and I'm three."

She smiled, taken aback by her precociousness. "Hi, I'm Megan and I'm twenty," she replied, kneeling to the girl's level to shake her hand.

"Who're you friends with?" Claire asked bluntly.

Megan looked around at the adults, confused by the question, and by her status within the pack.

Emily mouthed the word imprint past Claire's shoulder.

"I'm friends with Quil; and Aunfy Emily is friends with Sam, and Kim is friends with Jared…" Claire listed off quickly.

"Oh, I'm friends with Embry," she answered, a bit uncertainly. What did Claire's friendship with Quil mean? Did she just make it up to explain everyone else's relationships? Or was she an imprint, just like everyone else here? Maybe there was a younger wolf that was Claire's age?

Emily, perhaps sensing Megan's confusion, picked Claire up and brought her into the kitchen to finish the cookies. Kim trailed after them, leaving her alone with Rachel.

"So are you and Embry talking now?" Rachel asked. The tone of her voice wasn't very concerned, more gossipy.

"Yeah, I guess so," Megan said uncertainly.

"Does your boyfriend know about him?" she asked.

"Not really." Megan glanced into the kitchen, willing Emily and Kim to come out and save her from where this conversation was going, but she could hear Claire enthusiastically doing a rendition of a Disney song. "But it's not really anything he needs to know. It's not like I'm cheating on him."

Rachel nodded, looking unconvinced. "So you don't think you and Embry will…end up together?"

"Look, I don't know if that's any of your business," Megan tried to say firmly.

"No, but someone's got to say something to you. Don't you see how the imprint worked out for everyone else? Emily and Sam are married; Kim's been dating Jared since he phased; Paul and I are engaged. He's completely committed to you, he has to be. If you reject him and find someone else, how do you expect him to move on? He can't," she hissed.

Megan raised her eyebrows, shocked. She had never thought of it that way. "So your engagement…?"

Rachel sat upright quickly, her face turning from scowl to smile quickly. "Claire-bear!" she said loudly.

Megan understood that code. Shut up or else.

"They're done!" Claire announced. "But Anfy Emily says they're too hot."

"We'll eat the cookies later," Emily agreed. She cast a curious glance between Rachel and Megan, but said nothing. "How about we watch a movie? The Little Mermaid?"

Claire fell asleep halfway through the movie, so they left her on the couch wrapped up in a blanket. They congregated in the kitchen and Emily passed out coffees, but none of them sat. Megan noticed how jittery the other women seemed, each in their own way. Emily continued to bustle around the kitchen, cleaning it somewhat frantically. Rachel was pacing the small room, and Kim's fingers tapped anxiously on the table.

Megan cleared her throat before she could speak. "How long are they usually out there?"

"Depends," Emily answered as she started the dishes. Megan grabbed a towel and started drying. "Sometimes only a few hours. Usually less than a day. Don't worry, they'll all be fine," she added, seemingly more for her own benefit than for Megan's.

Less than half an hour later, when Rachel's pacing had expanded to the living room and Kim had started knitting, the front door burst open. Kim gave a surprised little shriek that had Megan and Emily running to the living room, but instead of a vampire, it was Sam. He looked exhausted and was covered in mud, but Emily threw herself into his arms. A second later Paul walked in with Quil, who stopped to ruffle Claire's hair.

"Where's…" Kim started, but Quil interrupted her. "He's fine, but we had to take him to the hospital. Embry and Jake are with him, and Carlisle is operating. Come on, we'll take my car."

Kim nodded, pale, and stood up quickly. Megan was confused by the sudden bustling of activity.

"I'll call her mom," Emily said to Quil, nodding at Claire. "You guys go ahead."

Quil and Kim left, followed by Paul and Rachel.

"We took care of the leech," Sam told her. "You can go home now."

Megan nodded, knowing a dismissal when she heard one. Weirdly, she felt like she should be going to the hospital with everyone else to check on Jared, but they weren't asking her to. And she wasn't part of their pack, right? She was only here because Kim made her come. She should go home while she could.

"Thanks for the food, Emily," she said quietly. "Bye."

She felt oddly disappointed that she hadn't seen Embry. But that was silly. He was busy, and it wasn't like they were dating. They were, after all, the odd couple out.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

An hour after she got home, someone knocked on her door. Megan jumped, still jittery from the vampire hideout. "You're ok," Embry breathed when she opened it, engulfing her in a tight hug again.

"Paranoid werewolf cult," Megan muttered, playfully pushing him away so she could see him. "How are you? How is Jared?"

"Vamps didn't stand a chance," he assured her. "Jared will be fine in a few days. He's at Forks General now. I just left there actually. Most of the pack's been visiting, though, so he's fine."

Her eyes widened when she saw his leg. His jeans were stained with blood from his knee down to his calf. "What's that? Are you ok? Should you go back to the hospital?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Did I forget to mention my super-werewolf healing abilities?" he joked. He grabbed some paper towels and began cleaning his calf. She pushed him toward a chair. "I'm fine. I just forgot to change between this and taking Jared to the hospital. How was Emily's house?"

"It was…good," Megan said, thinking of her odd standoff with Paul's fiancé over her relationship with Embry.

He rolled his eyes. "Rachel Black?"

"Did they tell you?" she asked, dismayed.

"No, but that's just how Rachel is. Don't worry about it. Emily loved you, and Claire wants you to babysit her with Quil." The way he smiled when he said that, she wasn't sure if babysitting was a great honor or a horrible threat. At the same time, though, his smile did funny things to her stomach.

"Lovely. At least I have a backup for when the coffee business dries up." She hesitated, wanting to ask him something but unsure of how to phrase it.

"Just ask me," he said, not looking up from his leg.

"Is our imprint weird? Are we supposed to be something else?" Megan asked finally.

Embry sighed heavily, leaning his arms against his knees. "What did they say to you?"

"Nothing," Megan said quickly. "But I can see it myself, we're the odd ones out. Is it weird to you?"

"Do you want it to be something else?" he asked instead, holding her gaze steadily, earnestly.

She bit her lip. In another life, she thought silently. One where she didn't have Simon. "No," she said finally.

"Then no. I am whatever you need me to be, always." He held her gaze seriously, and she stopped breathing for a moment. In that moment, it was just the two of them, and she forgot about Simon and the pack and crazy imprints. "Just say the word." He winked, and the sober air evaporated.

She smiled. "Right now I want you to stop risking your life every which way."

He moved the paper towels and showed her an injury-free leg. "All good. See, the magic of the imprint."

She gaped. He stood up and gently closed her mouth before throwing away his towels.

"What if I wished for you to be a bird or something?" she asked, half curious and half joking.

"Sorry, one wish per day. Try again tomorrow," he replied, walking to the front door. "I'm going to leave before your boyfriend sees me and gets mad. I'll see you Tuesday."

She felt a weird sense of guilt as he left. She wondered if, despite his words, maybe he was less ok with how their relationship was than he let on.

The next day, as she was leaving Simon's apartment, she put in action Operation Simon Integration. "I'm going to go visit a friend in the hospital, if you want to come," she offered hopefully. Just because none of the other imprints had incorporated their lives into the pack didn't mean it was impossible. Simon didn't even have to know about the pack secret; he just had to meet them all and they could meet him and they'd all be friends and- She cut off her overly-optimistic daydream. She'd settle just for Simon meeting the pack and no one dying.

"Who is it?" Simon asked.

"Remember Jared? He came by my apartment the other day with Kim about a work thing…"

"Oh yeah, the bigger guy? Why are you visiting him? Isn't he just a coworker?"

"Yes, but he's hurt and in the hospital," Megan repeated patiently. "Do you want to come?"

"No, I have a lot of work to do." Simon barely glanced up from his textbook. Megan stood up. It seemed like he always had too much work to talk to her lately. He had too much work to meet the people in her life. And she had changed, she realized. Her life didn't revolve around school anymore, and she and Simon seemed to have an ever-widening rift in between them.

She knew, somehow, that if they were going to continue to date then Simon would have to meet the Quileutes. Like it or not, as Kim had said, Megan was part of the pack, and it was part of her life. Was it worth it to drag Simon into this? Was he committed enough? Was she?

"You always have a lot of work," she said quietly. "When's the last time we did something fun?"

Simon shrugged. "I have a big test coming up, Meg. Besides, since when are hospitals your idea of fun?"

Megan frowned at him, but he was still looking at his book. Part of this was her fault, she knew. She hadn't made enough time for him, and she was keeping a pretty big secret from him. Change your mind, she begged mentally.

"Maybe we should take a break," she said finally.

His head snapped up from his book. "What? Because I don't want to go to a hospital visit with you? Seriously?" Simon never got this upset. "This is about that guy in La Push, isn't it?" he accused. "God, I knew there was something going on with you two!"

Her eyebrows shot up at how quick he was to blame Embry. Maybe he suspected that they had been hanging out lately? But that wasn't cheating, she reminded herself. They were just friends. "This isn't about him!" Megan snapped. "This is about us! You know we're not as close as we used to be. We barely see each other anymore. I don't even know what's going on in your life lately."

Simon stood up. "It's not my fault! We're both busy, and then you're always at work or school or with Cara!" His voice lowered. "You barely talk to me anymore. What happened to us, Megan?"

Megan shook her head. "We just grew apart. It happens. But we can't just keep pretending things are the same as they were in high school. We're different now."

"You're different," Simon disagreed quietly. "Especially lately."

She bit her lip. "I've got to go before visiting hours are over," she said. "Bye Simon."

.

.

Thanks to **Simply Me** for pointing out the name typos in this chapter. midterms+coffee=silly mistakes


	8. Chapter 8

"And you must have met a man,

Tall and handsome at that,

Who must've put a spell on you, baby.

Must have kept coming back

'Cause I can smell him in your skin." "Ladykiller" by the Horrible Crowes

Chapter Eight

The hospital room was crowded with half of La Push's population, it seemed. At least half of the pack was there, as well as many Megan hadn't met. She had stopped on the way there to buy a card. She felt small and out of place amongst all of the Quileutes. She hoped that they couldn't tell that she had been crying in the car after her fight with Simon.

"Megan!" Kim cried when she saw her, rising from Jared's bedside. He was propped up on pillows, and looked to be in an intense game of cards with Paul. Kim hugged her quickly, and Megan rearranged her face to match Kim's beam. "It's so nice of you to come visit after Jared's car accident," she said meaningfully.

Megan nodded. Apparently not everyone in La Push was in on the secret. "It's no problem. How are you feeling?" she asked the patient.

"Victorious!" he cried, laying down a hand of cards, much to Paul's dismay. "I'm fine. A little accident can't slow me down," he answered her. "Especially not with all the food people are bringing me," he said, pointing to the small side table that was overflowing with casserole plates, and a stack of empty ones on the floor next to it.

"Like we'd make the hospital deal with the pack's appetite," Kim whispered to her. Megan laughed.

As if to emphasize her point, Embry chose then to open the door, his arms full of candy bars. "Alright, one vending machine special," he announced. "Didn't they used to put more candy in those things?"

"I won the last round," Jared told him. "Paul's down by two now."

"Nice." Embry threw him a chocolate bar. He turned and saw her. "Hi. You came." He was practically beaming.

Megan felt that familiar lightness when he was around. She smiled genuinely back at him. "That's what you said yesterday," she teased. "Not much faith in me, huh?"

She was vaguely aware of some of Jared's older relatives saying their goodbyes and leaving, but she had a hard time looking away from Embry.

"Embry, you in this round?" Paul asked.

"Deal me out," he said, dumping the rest of the candy next to Jared on the bed. "Can I talk to you?" he asked her. He pulled Megan out of the small room and into the hallway, but not before she caught Kim and Jared giving each other sly looks. He turned to her when they were outside, and she was aware that they were standing close together, but it felt right. "Are you ok?" He studied her intently.

"I'm fine," she said, shifting a bit under his scrutiny.

"Earlier..? You were really upset, it seemed."

Megan groaned and covered her face. "Did you feel that? Simon and I had an argument."

"Oh." He sighed loudly. "I'm sorry, I wasn't sure if-"

"No, it's fine. You were just worried." Megan inwardly marveled at how well she had adapted to the odd intricacies of paranormal life. She rubbed her face and looked up at him. "How are you doing?"

"I'm…holding up," he answered slowly. "It's really…weird to have someone in the pack in the hospital. We all just get so used to healing quickly that it seems like we're invincible, but then one day something like this happens, and everyone realizes that we're not. It was a weird collective wake up call, and now everyone's been on edge. Sam's got us on double patrols, which kind of sucks when you're down a man, and then everyone's been spending their free time here, so no one's been sleeping at all. Paul and Jake almost got into a fight in the parking lot yesterday over some french fries. I barely know what's been going on in the shop lately, we've all been so busy, and my mom keeps calling me but I haven't had time-" He cut himself off. "Sorry, I didn't mean to start rambling."

"No, it's fine," she said. "You're under a lot of pressure. Why don't you leave now? Go get some rest."

He shook his head. "I'm probably going to go do some paperwork for the shop in a little while, and then I have patrol tonight… I'm fine, though, seriously."

"Get some rest," she insisted. "You can go sleep in my car." She reached up, almost unconsciously, and brushed her hand under his eye where his skin was slightly puffy from exhaustion.

He grabbed her hand, holding her there. His skin was pleasantly hot against hers. "You're too nice to me," he murmured. "I'm just a creepy werewolf stalker."

She smiled. "No, you're not. You're this awesome guy that's trying to do too much for everyone else."

Embry leaned down slowly, pausing right when they were at eye level. She could feel the heat of his skin, his breath blowing against her as he gave her time to stop him. Instead, she leaned in the last inch and kissed him, her hands naturally moving from his face to around his neck. She felt him smile lightly against her mouth before he pulled her body up against his. Their mouths moved together naturally, instinctively. Somehow, this felt right; it felt good; it felt safe. There was a warmth spreading quickly through her body which did not seem to be connected to Embry's excess body heat. This felts like where she was supposed to be.

Megan didn't notice the approaching footsteps, or the quiet gasp in the hallway, but Embry did. He pulled away gently and looked over her shoulder. She turned quickly and found Simon behind them with a hurt expression on his face. He dropped the card he was holding and spun away, storming down the corridor.

"Simon!" she called. She cast a guilty look behind her at Embry before running after him.

She caught up with him right before the stairwell. "Simon!"

"Save it!" he snapped, turning around. "I came here to try and work things out, but obviously you don't need me anymore."

"It wasn't what it looked like!" Megan said. As soon as she said that, though, her words sounded hollow. "I'm sorry!"

Simon snorted derisively. "Yeah, I can tell. I'm done, Meg."

"Wait, Simon, I can explain," she tried desperately. But she couldn't explain, not really. She couldn't tell him that she had been meeting Embry for reasons that she couldn't control, or that everyone thought that the two of them were meant to be except Megan. She couldn't explain that she was actively fighting a mystical tie to Embry every minute of the day for Simon. She couldn't tell him how excited she was that he was here, and that if he just met the pack then he would understand that this was all just random chance. She couldn't tell him any of it.

Simon raised his eyebrows at her, waiting for the explanation that she couldn't give.

"Please just trust me?" she finally asked quietly. "We can work this out."

"No Meg, I can't trust you anymore. I've seen the way he looks at you, and this obviously isn't the first time you guys have seen each other. I'm not stupid. Just let me leave; I don't want to deal with this." He pushed open the door and left.

And she let him.

She knew that their relationship had been leading up to this, that she had hinted at a breakup when she left today, but it was still surprising. It had happened so suddenly. It was one thing to vaguely consider breaking up with your best friend of three years, and quite another thing for it to actually happen. She blinked quickly, not wanting to cry.

Especially when she had to go back and deal with Embry.

He was still in the hallway where she had left him, hands in his pockets. "Everything ok?" he asked quietly. His voice was gruff. She wondered if he was hurt, or if he was feeling Megan's hurt.

"No." She balled up her hands, pacing bit in the tiny hall. "No, it's not ok. Why did you kiss me?" she demanded angrily.

He took a step back in surprise, holding up his hands. "You kissed me," he said defensively. "But I wanted to."

"Well don't!" she shouted. "I don't want this! I don't want imprint-hocus pocus! I want something that's real, and normal. I want a real relationship, but my real boyfriend just dumped me because of your stupid wolf thing!" She ran her hands through her hair in frustration. "Take the imprint off!"

Embry looked crushed, and then a bit angry. "I can't." He paused, as if weighing his words. 'But you kissed me. There's something between us and if you can't keep denying it."

Part of Megan realized that she was overreacting, that her emotions were just crazy from breaking up with Simon and that she wasn't being fair to Embry. She quieted that part of her down pretty quickly.

"There's nothing between us but forced love," she hissed.

He reeled back, his lips drawing down into a tight line. "Tell yourself whatever you want to believe, but that was real, and you're too scared to admit it, because that means that you've been cheating on your boyfriend."

She gasped, feeling oddly betrayed. "I've got to go," she muttered.

She walked away quickly, wiping away tears, and unsure who she was crying for.


	9. Chapter 9

"I don't hear music anymore.

My ears are tired of all the pictures and the words

'Cause you in them still." "Hang You Up" by Yellowcard

Chapter Nine

Megan left the hospital and barricaded herself in her apartment with a stack of old movies. She considered calling Cara, but thought better of it. She couldn't explain the situation to her fully, and it would make no sense. Then she thought about calling Kim, who knew the whole story, but rejected that idea too. She had had enough of magic bonds and werewolves and packs. So she watched Dirty Dancing and the Titanic until she had just about memorized them.

She was angry and confused. Her relationship with Simon had lasted so long that she wasn't entirely sure how to function without him. They had grown apart, but their relationship was also very routine. Who was she supposed to text when she saw something funny at work? Who was she going to text when it was late at night and she couldn't sleep? Who did she eat lunch with on Tuesdays and Thursdays? Who would watch crappy reruns of old tv sitcoms with her?

Alternatively, her emotions were in a turmoil over Embry. She was confused about what the kiss had meant. Did he want her? Was it real, or was it the imprint's effect? How could she ever really know?

He called her at least a dozen times, but she ignored them. She knew that their separation was probably affecting him more than her, but resolved herself not to go back to him. So what that everything seemed much duller without him? She could ignore the small aching in her chest that his absence always caused. And if his song got stuck in her head all the time, she could ignore that too.

Tuesday came and went, and she found herself missing their weekly meet ups at the beach. She missed how he was always so upbeat, even under his ridiculous supernatural pressures. She missed talking to him about all of the random things in her life, and how he would just listen seriously and then make a joke at the end.

About a week into her moping, Cara came banging on her door demanding an explanation.

"Simon and I broke up," she told Cara quietly.

"Oh, Meg," Cara breathed. She hugged her tightly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Megan folded herself up on the couch next to Cara. "It was my fault," she confided. "That guy from La Push, I've been meeting up with him once a week-just as friends," she stressed at Cara's sudden sly look. "Simon was upset about it and we got into a fight." She quickly relayed the events of the week before at the hospital, skimming over what she and Embry had fought about.

"Do you like Embry?" Cara wanted to know.

Megan stared into her mug of tea. She felt nauseous and ill ever since she left Embry, and tea was one of the only things she could stomach. "Yes, but it's complicated," she answered. "I don't know if what we have is real. It's hard to explain. He didn't start talking to me because he liked me. He had ulterior motives. And now he does like me, I think, but I don't know anymore. It's all such a mess." She groaned.

"So what are you going to do?" Cara asked finally.

Megan swirled her now cool tea around in her mug. "I don't know. My immediate plans are pretty much moping and feeling alternatively bad about myself and guilty for how I treated Embry. And cheating on Simon."

Cara snorted. "Well, as appealing as that sounds, it's not happening. You have to get out of this apartment and get on with your life and move on. Come on, we're going to the mall." She hauled her friend to her feet.

"I look gross," Megan said petulantly, frowning at her sweatpants and unwashed hair.

"We can go to the bookstore," Cara conceded, rolling her eyes.

Megan smiled. "Alright then."

She hadn't really been expecting Cara to ambush her while she was browsing through the nonfiction section, but she probably should have. She was flicking through a history of cryptology when Cara sidled up behind her. "So, what are you going to do about Embry?"

Megan frowned, not really concentrating on the question. "He probably hates me now, so it doesn't really matter."

"What if he didn't?" Cara pressed. "Would you date him?"

Megan flipped to the back of the book to find the price. Was thirteen dollars too expensive for a random book? She already had two others that seemed more interesting that she planned to buy. "Well, I know he doesn't. He can't, not really. He has to like me." She clamped her mouth shut when she realized what she had said, how close she had come to exposing Embry's secret.

"What?" Cara asked, looking genuinely confused.

She shook her head. "What were you asking me again? Something about cryptology?" Megan gave her friend an innocent smile. "I think this book is too expensive, for now. Don't they have a used book section here?"

Cara gave her a weird look. "Smooth cover." She waved her hands dismissively. "Fine, don't tell me. But Embry sounds like a good guy," she said in a sing song voice. "Can we go clothes shopping now?"

Megan grabbed one last book before raising one eyebrow at Cara. "I hate clothes shopping."

Cara raised one eyebrow right back. "I hate secrets. But I'm dealing."

Megan sighed. "Fine, but only two stores." She should have know that that would turn into an entire afternoon's worth of Cara holding up shirt after shirt until she finally found what she was looking for.

Slowly, life seemed to return to normal. She stopped being upset about Simon and realized that the breakup, while not being the way she wanted it, was really the best thing for them. The urge to text him or talk to him all the time grew fainter the longer they went without talking. And after a while, the tightness in her chest dissipated, and the melody of Embry's song slowly faded.

For some reason, though, she still couldn't get Embry's anguished expression as she left him at the hospital out of her mind. It haunted her at night. During the day she would imagine that she saw him, only to study the person and find that it was just a particularly tall man, or someone with Native American heritage. She missed their random conversations, and wondered how he was doing. She wondered if he could get over the imprint, or if it was still bothering him. And often she would find herself looking forward to Tuesday, thinking that she would see him, only to remember that she would not. She wondered if there were any more vampire attacks, if he was safe or if he was out there somewhere risking his life. She wanted to call him, but stopped herself.

Finally, after a month, she caved. She couldn't stop thinking about Embry, try as she might. She decided that she would just drive to La Push and settle this problem, once and for all. She would get him to take the imprint off, and then she would finally be able to move on with her life.

She walked up to his front door and raised her hand to bang on it. She paused for a minute to listen when the faint sounds of his guitar came from inside. The song was slow, and even though she couldn't understand the Quileute lyrics, she knew that it was sad. After a long moment, she recognized it as the song that he had first played for her, only with the melody slowed down significantly. The song that had originally been so hopeful, so happy, now seemed filled with desolation and longing.

She hesitated.

Finally she mustered up her courage and knocked. After a long moment, Embry opened the door. Megan felt a momentary twinge of sympathy when she saw the circles under his eyes. He looked like he hadn't slept in weeks, and his hair was unkempt and his clothes dirty.

"What do _you_ want?" he growled at her.

His scowl erased any empathy she could have had for him, reminding her of her anger. This was all his fault, after all. "You need to take this imprint off! I can't sleep; I can't eat! I'm so distracted thinking about you all of the time!" Embry's scowl inexplicably began to lighten. "I'm serious! I hate this! I have this aching in my chest when we're apart. Stop smirking and take the imprint off!" She realized that she was shouting and took a deep breath to calm down. "Please."

Embry chuckled. No he _laughed_, loud and long, throwing his head back. "No, I'm sorry, stop!" he said in between laughs, grabbing at her hand when she tried to hit him. "Really, I'm sorry," he repeated, catching his breath and growing serious, even if he couldn't contain his smile. "I'm just really happy to see you."

Megan stared at him, feeling her anger grow. Here she was, demanding an answer to her problem, and he just laughed at her? She tugged at her hand, but he grasped it tighter and said, "I already took it off."

Megan froze. "What? How?"

Embry sighed. "I stopped phasing a month ago, after you left the hospital. After two weeks, the imprint…my pull to you was gone." He paused. "I can't really be sure, but the imprint should have stopped for you before that."

Megan was still for a moment, her mind spinning. That was when his song stopped plaguing her, but she still kept thinking about him all the time. "So it's gone? You stopped being a wolf…for me?" She knew how important his duty to his tribe and his pack was to him, but he had given it all up for her, even after she had treated him so horribly. It was, in a bizarre way, the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her. He had given up this huge part of himself so that he could release her of her obligation to him.

But why had she still been thinking about him, missing him all the time? If it wasn't the imprint, then it must have been…real?

He nodded seriously. "I'm sorry I yelled at you; it's been a rough month."

She blinked as she again took in his tired appearance, his filthy house, and his dirty clothes. "Oh Embry…" A wave of guilt assaulted her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her forehead against his chest, sighing. "No. I'm sorry that I…reacted badly about that. I shouldn't have gotten angry and blamed you about Simon, or about imprinting on me. I'm sorry I acted like a total bitch about the whole thing. And I'm sorry I made you give up being a werewolf for me. I didn't think about that, and I know it was probably really hard for you, and the rest of the pack."

He reached under her chin and tilted her head up to look at him. "Don't apologize. You had every right to be upset." His concern inevitably slid back into a smile, like he couldn't stop himself. "So you really think about me all the time?" Megan blushed and Embry grinned, but then his expression faltered for a moment. "Is your boyfriend ok with you being here?"

Megan raised her eyebrows, surprised that she hadn't told him. "Oh, I…we broke up a month ago. Not because of you," she said quickly. "It was going to happen either way. Though you did speed the process up a little. Especially when he caught us in the hospital hallway."

"Right, right," he said, still grinning.

"So…it's really not the imprint anymore?" She had to make sure. "It's…you…I…"

He cut her off when he kissed her, but she had a hard time being mad about it. Instead she found herself returning the gesture. He finally pulled away, but kept her close and leaned his forehead against hers.

"I really like you too," he articulated for her. "So, wanna come in?"

She contained a chuckle. "Why, yes, I'd love to."

"Actually," he reconsidered, glancing behind him at his house and then shutting the door, "Maybe a restaurant would be better."

She snickered. "I missed you," she confessed.

"I missed you too." He grabbed her hand and held it tightly, as if to prevent her from leaving again. "So…does this mean I can start phasing again?"

She laughed a bit, pulling him towards her car. "I don't know, will you imprint on me again?" she asked coyly.

"I don't know, will that make you dump me again?" His voice sounded light, like it was a joke, but his eyes, when she turned to look at him, were serious. He was actually worried that she would leave him again. She felt newly guilty, and she knew she had to make this up to him.

"If you want to be a wolf again, I could never hold you back, even if you risking your life all the time scares the crap out of me. I'd support you. And if you imprinted on me again, I would be honored. Delighted." Then she looked up at him and smiled mischievously before grabbing one of his hands and going down on one knee. "Embry Call, will you be my soul mate?" she asked.

His eyes sparked with mirth as he pulled her to her feet and into his arms, twirling them around. "Hell yes," he whispered into her ears. "Always."

Fin.

A/N: So yeah, that's it. Thanks all for reading. I really liked this, as cheesy as it turned out, and I hope you did too :)


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